Politics

Harmeet Dhillon resigns as DOJ civil rights chief after 18 months

CBS News reports Attorney General Todd Blanche announced that Harmeet Dhillon resigned after leading the Civil Rights Division for 18 months.

Published Nov 5, 2026 · 19:49 UTC4 reports

The short version

Harmeet Dhillon resigned as head of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division, according to Attorney General Todd Blanche.[CBS News]
During her tenure, more than 75% of the division's staff departed, and she upended many of its traditional priorities.[CBS News]
Critics, including former division attorney Stacey Young, have called her the most destructive division head in DOJ history.[CBS News]
The division filed 31 lawsuits against mainly blue states and D.C. seeking unredacted voter rolls, and has lost 27 of those cases so far.[CBS News]

Harmeet Dhillon resigned as assistant attorney general in charge of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division on Thursday, according to Attorney General Todd Blanche.[CBS News]
Blanche said he accepted Dhillon's resignation, and that she had led the division for the past 18 months.[CBS News]
More than 75% of the Civil Rights Division's staff departed in a mass exodus last year under Dhillon's oversight.[CBS News]
The division filed 31 lawsuits against primarily blue states and the District of Columbia seeking unredacted voter rolls, and the Justice Department has lost 27 of those cases so far.[CBS News]

The available reporting does not state the reasons for Dhillon's resignation.[CBS News]
The reporting does not state the outcome of the remaining voter-roll lawsuits beyond the 27 losses so far.[CBS News]

Outlet counts describe coverage, not independent confirmation. Reports may share a wire service or original source.